Poker press

ABSTRACT

A Press option is provided in a Blackjack game without affecting the rules or play of Blackjack. Players make two initial Blackjack wagers, one for each of two Blackjack hands, a Press wager, and a proposition wager. After dealing hands to each player and a dealer, each player has the ability to place or attribute the Press wager on the desired one of the two Blackjack hands and add it to the wager on that hand. The proposition wager is resolved based on a combined hand including the initial cards dealt to the player and a non-player card such as the dealer face up card or a community card. The Blackjack game then proceeds as in traditional Blackjack. The game playing modes are applicable to other games as well.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part (CIP) of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/261,784, filed Oct. 2, 2002, pending, and acontinuation-in-part (CIP) of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/030,285, filed Jan. 7, 2005, pending. U.S. patent application Ser.No. 10/261,784 is a CIP of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/589,202,filed Jun. 8, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,503,145. U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/030,285 is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 10/281,113, filed Oct. 28, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,854,733; whichis a continuation of U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 09/845,312, filedMay 1, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,481,719; which is acontinuation-in-part (CIP) of U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/464,778, filed Dec. 16, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,371,867; which is acontinuation-in-part (CIP) of U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/118,067, filed Jul. 17, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,012,719; which is acontinuation-in-part (CIP) of U.S. patent application Ser. No.08/889,919, filed Jul. 10, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,056,641; which is adivision of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/504,023, filed Jul. 19,1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,774. The entire contents of all of theabove-identified applications/patents are hereby incorporated byreference in this application.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

(NOT APPLICABLE)

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to casino games and, more particularly, to aBlackjack variation that includes a bet press feature and a propositionwager without requiring modifications to conventional Blackjack rules.

A variation of Blackjack has been previously invented called BlackjackPress. The concept of pressing a bet is a common concept in casino gamesand relates to increasing the total wager amount. The game requires aplayer to place two wagers in a Blackjack game to receive a separatehand for each wager. This in itself is not a new idea as many Blackjackplayers choose to do this if casino rules allow.

At Blackjack Press a third wager is placed. After the first two cards toeach Blackjack hand and the dealer face up card are dealt, the playerchooses which of the two Blackjack hands to press by adding the thirdwager to one of the first wager and the second wager. This naturallycreates positive equity for the player so a method of compensating thehouse must apply.

The initial version of Press has rules that state that if all four cardsin the player initial hands are the same color, then the Press bet islost. In addition, the rules of Blackjack are changed to allow only a 1to 1 payoff on a Blackjack (i.e., a two-card total of twenty-one),rather than 3 to 2 as in conventional Blackjack rules. It can be seentherefore that a player that is not making a Press bet is losing out onBlackjack equity and should not play Blackjack only at a Blackjack Presstable.

Also, a player that had a small Blackjack bet but a large Press betwould have an advantage over the house. Therefore, the game must beoperated with a bet level relationship between each of the wagers. Theeasiest method of doing this is to require that all three wagers areequal. An alternative would be to allow the two Blackjack wagers to bedifferent, with the Press wager being exactly half of the total of theBlackjack wagers. (This has a similar impact to all bets being equal.)An alternative method would be to allow the Press bet to be equal thetotal Blackjack wagers, but this would require a further change inBlackjack rules to provide extra compensation to the house.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It would be desirable to include a Press option at Blackjack but toavoid the flaws inherent in Blackjack Press. Firstly, no change to theBlackjack rules is preferable, so providing the advantage that a playercan sit and play regular Blackjack, albeit two hands rather than one.Secondly, an optional Press bet rather than a mandatory Press bet ispreferable, so allowing a player that wants to just play Blackjack tolearn the Press by watching or to miss the Press when not wanting toplay Press. Thirdly, no bet size relationship between the Press andBlackjack bets is preferable as this allows players to choose to beteither the Press for lower than or higher than the Blackjack bets.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a method of playing acasino game includes the steps of (a) receiving from a player a firstBlackjack wager for a first Blackjack hand and a second Blackjack wagerfor a second Blackjack hand; (b) receiving a press wager from theplayer; (c) receiving a proposition wager from the player; (d) dealing afirst 2-card Blackjack hand and a second 2-card Blackjack hand to theplayer and dealing at least one non-player card; (e) after step (d), theplayer attributing the press wager to a player-selected one of the firstBlackjack hand and the second Blackjack hand; (f) forming a 5-card handincluding cards from the two 2-card hands dealt to the player and the atleast one non-player card; (g) resolving the proposition wager accordingto a Poker rank of the 5-card hand; and (h) continuing with a Blackjackgame based on the first and second Blackjack hands.

Prior to step (e), the method may include dealing a 2-card Blackjackhand to a dealer, consisting of a revealed card and a concealed card,wherein the revealed card is the non-player card. Alternatively, thenon-player card is a community card.

In a preferred operating mode, if the player places the press wager, theproposition wager is compulsory, and otherwise, the press wager and theproposition wager are optional. Steps (b) and (c) may be practiced byrequiring a predetermined relationship between the press wager and theproposition wager.

Step (g) may be practiced by paying a payout on a payscale based on thePoker rank of the 5-card hand. In this context, step (g) may bepracticed by paying a payout if the Poker rank of the 5-card hand istwo-pair or better. Alternatively, step (g) may be practiced by paying apayout if the Poker rank of the 5-card hand is three of a kind orbetter.

In another exemplary embodiment of the invention, a method of creating acasino game including a plurality of game components includes the stepsof (a) defining a first game component having playing rules that areconsistent with a traditional casino game and including a playing modewithout a house advantage; (b) defining a second game componentincluding a playing mode with sufficient house advantage to compensatefor the first game component without a house advantage; and (c)requiring players to participate in both game components in order toparticipate in the game, wherein the first game component is playedwithout altering the playing rules of the traditional casino game. Thetraditional casino game may be one of Blackjack, Poker, Baccarat, PaiGow, Roulette, and Craps.

In still another exemplary embodiment of the invention, a method ofplaying a casino game includes the steps of (a) receiving from a playera first hand wager for a first hand and a second hand wager for a secondhand; (b) receiving a press wager from the player; (c) receiving aproposition wager from the player; (d) dealing the first hand and thesecond hand as part of a primary game, each of the first and secondhands including at least one card, and dealing at least one non-playercard; (e) after step (d), the player attributing the press wager to aplayer-selected one of the first hand and the second hand; (f) forming acombined hand including cards from the first and second hands dealt tothe player and the at least one non-player card; (g) resolving theproposition wager based on the combined hand; and (h) continuing withthe primary game with the first and second hands.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other aspects and advantages of the present invention will bedescribed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawing, in whichFIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary table layout for the game methodaccording to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A preferred embodiment of the invention is used in connection with acasino-type Blackjack style table and one or more standard decks of 52playing cards. FIG. 1 illustrates a playing surface (layout) 10 of thetable which includes a primary betting area 12 for each of a pluralityof players, which in this embodiment is five players. The primarybetting area 12 includes two wager areas 13 for the placement of aBlackjack wager on each of two hands. The playing surface 10 alsoincludes a Press wager betting area 14 and a Poker wager betting area15. In addition, the playing surface 10 includes a dealer area 16,displays of a predetermined payoff scale 20, and displays ofpredetermined game rules 18. As would be apparent to those of ordinaryskill in the relevant art, the predetermined payoff scales and gamerules used in a particular embodiment can be based on the teachings ofthe invention and well known gaming principles and casino specificrequirements. Other wager areas and/or information can be displayed onthe playing surface 10, such as promotional markings or the like.

In order to obviate the disadvantages of Blackjack Press, it isdesirable to provide a game component with sufficient house advantage tocompensate for the player advantage in having the ability to press aBlackjack wager after seeing cards. Game components from the presentApplicant's prior patents are useful in this regard. See, for example,U.S. Pat. No. 6,503,145 including one wager (playing mode) on whichthere is a high house advantage, thereby enabling another wager (playingmode) with no house advantage. Additionally, the high house advantagewager is preferably a 5-card Poker pay scale wager based on a 5-cardhand comprising the first two cards in each of the two player hands anda non-player card such as the dealer face up card or a community card.This concept is identified in U.S. Pat. No. 6,863,274. The contents ofeach of these prior patents are hereby incorporated by reference.

In order to play Poker Press Blackjack, each player is required to placea Blackjack wager at each of the wager areas 13 for two Blackjack hands.(Whether these wagers must be equal or not is a matter for each operatorto choose based on their normal rules for playing two hands.) Eachplayer then optionally places two additional wagers, being a Press wagerat wager area 14 and a proposition wager, such as a 5-card Poker wager,at wager area 15. These wager amounts are preferably equal to each otherbut do not have to have a size relationship with the Blackjack wagers13. Alternative embodiments could allow a specific relationship otherthan equal, such as the Press wager 14 may be a maximum of double thePoker wager 15.

After dealing two 2-card Blackjack hands to each player and a dealerhand to the dealer, each player has the ability to place or attributethe Press wager on the desired one of the two Blackjack hands and add itto the wager on that hand. The 5-card Poker wager 15 is resolved bytaking losing wagers and paying winning wagers on a payscale based on a5-card hand consisting of the first two cards in each of the two playerhands and a non-player card such as the dealer face up card or acommunity card. Preferably, a preferred minimum winning hand rank forthe 5-card hand is Two Pair. In an alternative embodiment, the rankcould be Three of a Kind.

The Blackjack game then proceeds as in traditional Blackjack.

Of course, the game rules and methodology are exemplary, and those ofordinary skill in the art may contemplate slight variations that fallwithin the scope of the description herein. For example, a methodologyfor creating a casino game may more broadly entail defining a first gamecomponent having playing rules that are consistent with a traditionalcasino game and including a playing mode without a house advantage, anddefining a second game component including a playing mode withsufficient house advantage to compensate for the first game componentwithout a house advantage. In this context, players would be required toparticipate in both game components in order to participate in the game.Significantly, the first game component is played without altering theplaying rules of the traditional casino game. This methodology isapplicable to any traditional casino game, including without limitation,Blackjack, Poker, Baccarat, Pai Gow, Roulette, Craps and the like. Ofcourse, other variations may also be contemplated including variationsin the number of initial cards in each hand, the number of cards makingup a combined hand for the proposition wager, primary game rules,payscales and the like.

As would be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art, the inventioncan be embodied in a wide variety and forms of media such as, but notlimited to, single player slot video machines, multi-player slot videomachines, electronic games and devices, lottery terminals, scratch-cardformats, software, as well as in-flight, home and Internetentertainment. In addition, the invention can be readily implemented asa computer program product (e.g., floppy disk, compact disc, etc.)comprising a computer readable medium having control logic recordedtherein to implement the features of the invention as described. Controllogic can be loaded into the memory of a computer and executed by acentral processing unit (CPU) to perform the operations describedherein.

An exemplary apparatus configured for playing the game according to theinvention may include a display, a player interface, and circuitry foreffecting game play and including structure for receiving wagers anddealing hands according to the rules of the game. The processing circuiteffects game play according to game rules and resolves wagers based on acomparison of the player hand to a computer dealer hand as well as apayout scale.

With the game according to the present invention, a Press option isprovided in a Blackjack game that avoids the flaws inherent in prior artBlackjack Press.

While the invention has been described in connection with what ispresently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments,it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to thedisclosed embodiments, but on the contrary, is intended to cover variousmodifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit andscope of the appended claims.

1. A method of playing a casino game, comprising: (a) receiving from aplayer a first Blackjack wager for a first Blackjack hand and a secondBlackjack wager for a second Blackjack hand; (b) receiving a press wagerfrom the player; (c) receiving a proposition wager from the player; (d)dealing a first 2-card Blackjack hand and a second 2-card Blackjack handto the player and dealing at least one non-player card; (e) after step(d), the player attributing the press wager to a player-selected one ofthe first Blackjack hand and the second Blackjack hand; (f) forming a5-card hand including cards from the two 2-card hands dealt to theplayer and the at least one non-player card; (g) resolving theproposition wager according to a Poker rank of the 5-card hand; and (h)continuing with a Blackjack game based on the first and second Blackjackhands.
 2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising, prior tostep (e), dealing a 2-card Blackjack hand to a dealer, consisting of arevealed card and a concealed card, wherein the revealed card is thenon-player card.
 3. A method according to claim 1, wherein thenon-player card is a community card.
 4. A method according to claim 1,wherein if the player places the press wager, the proposition wager iscompulsory, and otherwise, the press wager and the proposition wager areoptional.
 5. A method according to claim 1, wherein steps (b) and (c)are practiced by requiring a predetermined relationship between thepress wager and the proposition wager.
 6. A method according to claim 5,wherein steps (b) and (c) are practiced by requiring that the presswager and the proposition wager be equal.
 7. A method according to claim5, wherein steps (b) and (c) are practiced by requiring that the presswager be a maximum of double the proposition wager.
 8. A methodaccording to claim 1, wherein step (g) is practiced by paying a payouton a payscale based on the Poker rank of the 5-card hand.
 9. A methodaccording to claim 8, wherein step (g) is practiced by paying a payoutif the Poker rank of the 5-card hand is two-pair or better.
 10. A methodaccording to claim 8, wherein step (g) is practiced by paying a payoutif the Poker rank of the 5-card hand is three of a kind or better.
 11. Amethod of creating a casino game including a plurality of gamecomponents, the method comprising: (a) defining a first game componenthaving playing rules that are consistent with a traditional casino gameand including a playing mode without a house advantage; (b) defining asecond game component including a playing mode with sufficient houseadvantage to compensate for the first game component without a houseadvantage; and (c) requiring players to participate in both gamecomponents in order to participate in the game, wherein the first gamecomponent is played without altering the playing rules of thetraditional casino game.
 12. A method according to claim 11, wherein thetraditional casino game is one of Blackjack, Poker, Baccarat, Pai Gow,Roulette, and Craps.
 13. A method according to claim 11, wherein thetraditional casino game is Blackjack, wherein the players place twoinitial wagers, one each for two 2-card Blackjack hands, and wherein theplaying mode without a house advantage provides an option for theplayers to add to one of the initial wagers after receiving the two2-card hands and a dealer's exposed card.
 14. A method of playing acasino game, comprising: (a) receiving from a player a first hand wagerfor a first hand and a second hand wager for a second hand; (b)receiving a press wager from the player; (c) receiving a propositionwager from the player; (d) dealing the first hand and the second hand aspart of a primary game, each of the first and second hands including atleast one card, and dealing at least one non-player card; (e) after step(d), the player attributing the press wager to a player-selected one ofthe first hand and the second hand; (f) forming a combined handincluding cards from the first and second hands dealt to the player andthe at least one non-player card; (g) resolving the proposition wagerbased on the combined hand; and (h) continuing with the primary gamewith the first and second hands.
 15. A method according to claim 14,further comprising, prior to step (e), dealing a dealer hand to adealer, consisting of at least a revealed card, wherein the revealedcard is the non-player card.
 16. A method according to claim 14, whereinthe non-player card is a community card.
 17. A method according to claim14, wherein if the player places the press wager, the proposition wageris compulsory, and otherwise, the press wager and the proposition wagerare optional.
 18. A method according to claim 14, wherein steps (b) and(c) are practiced by requiring a predetermined relationship between thepress wager and the proposition wager.
 19. A method according to claim18, wherein steps (b) and (c) are practiced by requiring that the presswager and the proposition wager be equal.
 20. A method according toclaim 18, wherein steps (b) and (c) are practiced by requiring that thepress wager be a maximum of double the proposition wager.